The invention relates to display banners, and more particularly to an improved banner and sign display device.
It has long been human practice to display pictures and other information on banners, and to mount the banners on structures for convenience in viewing. Frequently banners have been mounted on free-standing or otherwise dedicated structures which hold them up in straight, flat, or unfolded condition to make them easier to read and see. It is of critical importance that such banner holding structures be sturdy, durable, and easy and simple to use and erect. It is convenient if such structures allow banners to be installed, removed, and replaced easily.
A number of attempts at making simple and effective banner holders have been tried. While each represents an advance, they are also each more complicated to construct and less simple to install and/or remove than is necessary. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,335,889 to Hopkins et al.; 5,263,675 to Roberts et al,; 5,428,913 to Hillstrom; 3,310,899 to Hart et al.; 3,609,894 to Miller; 3,726,035 to Bower et al.; and 3,675,356 and 3,495,346 to Gilmoure all disclose banner suspension systems requiring access to the upper end of the banner and therefor some ladder or lift for access during installation. The systems they disclose are relatively complicated and permanent, and require somewhat complex work to replace or remove.
Another attempt is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,420 to Mollet et al., which discloses a pole sign construction in which the upper end of a pole sign is hung from simple hooks attached to a pole support member. Again, hanging of the pole sign thus requires access to the upper end of the sign, as for example by means of a ladder or hydraulic lift.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,803 to Hillstrom discloses a ground access elevated pole banner which reduces the need for ladders or hydraulic lifts but relies upon a relatively complicated track system secured to the side of a pole support member.
Because banners are held taut for display purposes, they act like sails in the wind and can generate substantial force and flap. The force generated and the flapping is detrimental to the banners and their support structure. The wind force can result in tearing, fraying, or dislodging of the banner, and bending or destruction of the structure holding the banner.
Thus although several systems have been disclosed, there remains a need for a simple, secure, and effective means for suspending and displaying banners, flags, and other large means for exhibiting information. There is a further need for systems which allow easy installation, removal, and replacement of banners for viewing. There is also a need for a simple and effective means to hold the banners taut while providing a means for the banner to spill wind and diminish the force generated by the wind.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple, secure, and effective means for suspending and displaying banners, flags, and other large means for exhibiting information. It is a further object of the invention to provide such systems which allow for the easy installation, removal, and replacement of such banners for viewing. It is further an object of the invention to provide a simple, secure, and effective means for maintaining tension on banners, flags, and other large means for exhibiting information, while providing a means to spill wind and diminish the force generated by the wind.
The invention provides such a system. The invention represents a novel and improved banner holder for displaying easily exchangeable banners, signs, flags, and other means for exhibiting information with extreme structural simplicity and a minimum of moving parts. In general, the banner holder according to the invention comprises a support member, at least one mounting member, and an interchangeable brace adapted to hold the banner. The brace is adapted to engage the mounting member in such fashion as to make the brace, and the banner mounted on it, easily mountable, removable, and replaceable. The banner itself is held between two parallel frame members. One frame member is mounted in a fixed position to the brace, and the other frame member is mounted on a moveable mount on the brace that is tensioned and held taut by an elastic member. When the banner is subject to wind loads, the elastic member allows the frame member mounted on the moveable mount to move toward the fixed frame member, thus spilling the wind, reducing the effective area of the banner subject to the wind, and thus diminishing the force on the banner generated by the wind. Applicant""s U.S. application Ser. No. 09/452,509, filed Dec. 1, 1999, is incorporated herein by reference.
In its most basic form, the apparatus aspect of the invention provides a banner support assembly for holding a banner in a display position, the support assembly comprising a support member, first and second mounting members, a brace, a banner holder mounted to the brace that retains a banner and to hold the banner spread out for display, typically in a flat or quasi-flat (e.g., a smoothly curved) condition for viewing or reading. The brace has first and second ends, each of which is adapted to engage one of said mounting members, and the first and second mounting members disposed upon the support member at a distance from each other sufficient to allow the mounting members to be simultaneously and releasably engaged by the brace ends, such that said brace may be supported on said support member and thereby hold said banner in a display position. The mounting and removal of banners from a structures of this type, and in particular of each of the types described herein, in the manner herein described, is remarkably simple. Yet the system provides a very secure mounting well adapted to the efficient display of banners, etc. Moreover, by supplying a banner support assembly with a series of two or more braces, each with an attached banner, the replacement or rotation of banners and their associated messages, etc., may be very quickly and easily accomplished.
The banner holder apparatus also provides a means to hold the banner taut and to spill wind loads. The banner support assembly comprises a pair of frame members which attach to the banner on opposite sides and hold it in display position. A first frame member is attached to brace in a fixed position, and a second frame member is attached to a moveable mount that moves in a channel in the brace. The banner is tensioned and held taut by an elastic member that draws the moveable mount and second frame member away from the first frame member. Wind loads on the banner are relieved by the deformation of the elastic member and the movement of the moveable mount and the second frame member toward the first frame member.
A preferred embodiment of the apparatus aspect of the invention comprises at least one formed mount with a tapered structure to removably retain the brace and the banner support assembly mounted to the brace. At least one formed mount is attached to the support structure. The brace adapted to hold the banner has a guide pin for each formed mount employed. As the brace is inserted into the receiver of the mount, the guide pin contacts a guide face on a tapered structure formed in the mount. The action of the guide pin against the guide face draws the banner holder toward and against the support structure, thereby securing and removably retaining the banner holder against the support structure. The guide face is of sufficient length that the brace is fully secured against the support member before the guide pin reaches the end of the guide face. The brace is removed from the formed mount by reversing the insertion process. The banner holder can be optionally retained by a retention apparatus, and can be locked in place to prevent unwanted removal. Additional mounts can be used in this embodiment as necessary for the application, these mounts can be of any type, including the formed mount. The brace can engage the formed mount at any point along the length of the brace because the point of engagement is not limited to the brace ends. The brace of this embodiment is typically a rectangular tube or any other cross section that provides torsional rigidity and engages the receiver portion of the formed mount.
The banner support apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus aspect of the invention comprises holding the banner between two parallel frame members. The first frame member is attached to the brace, and the second frame member is attached to a moveable or slidable mount that moves along the brace. An elastic member is attached at one end to the moveable mount and the other end is attached to the brace such as to draw the second frame member away from the first frame member and thus tension and hold the banner taut. The degree of tension on the banner is controlled by the characteristics and location of elastic member, which is selected to hold the banner taut while allowing the banner respond to wind loads. Under wind loading, the force of the wind on the banner increases the load on the elastic member which stretches and allows the second frame member to move toward the first frame member, thus spilling wind and reducing the effective area of the banner subject to the wind.
As will appear from the disclosure herein and in the Figures, banner holders according to the invention provide an extremely simple, secure, and effective means for suspending and displaying banners, flags, and other large means for exhibiting information. They also provide systems which allow for the easy installation, removal, and replacement of banners for viewing.